Petrol theft skyrockets in Mackay

THIEVES made off with more than $25,000 worth of stolen petrol last year, statistics reveal, amid concerns about the worsening number of drive offs in the Mackay district.

Queensland Police data shows there were 518 petrol drive-off offences reported last year, an increase from 372 offences in 2016.

There were 337 reported petrol drive off offences in the Mackay district in 2015.

Sergeant Nigel Dalton said the increase was closely tied to car thefts. "If you have a stolen car and you need more fuel in it, you're going to almost certainly not pay for your fuel, are you,” he said.

"Theft of cars has risen, so it's not surprising that some of those are related to other offences.”

There was a year-high of 47 car thefts in the Mackay district in October, but in January 2018 there were 63 car thefts, according to police statistics.

Sgt Dalton said service stations could prevent petrol theft by increasing security, or installing a pay before you pump system.

A peak fuel trader representative group has estimated thieves steal an average of $50 worth of petrol each time, bringing the total cost of all drive offs in the Mackay district to approximately $25,900.

Andrew O'Hearn of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland said a pre-payment system would hit the hip pockets of retailers, who rely on sales in-store to turn a profit.

"Being an opportunistic type of theft, the thieves are pumping in as much fuel as they can, it's usually not $10 or $20 worth of fuel but an average of about $50 per theft incident,” he said.

"Most fuel sellers are hesitant to implement the pay at the pump system because they need the customer to come into the shop and buy something.”

A spokeswoman for Caltex said the company has no plans to bring in pre-payment of fuel across the board but some stations with extended hours already require fuel to be prepaid late at night.

Townsville solution could work here

Mr O'Hearn said fuel retailers in Townsville hit hard by crime in recent years have begun employing security guards.

"Some of the service stations are now actually paying contract security guards to be on site at the later hours of night time which seems to be helping to deter drive offs,” he said.

Townsville was the only police district in Queensland that recorded a decrease in petrol drive off offences in 2017.

There were 831 petrol drive off offences recorded in Townsville last year, down from a high of 1,070 in 2016.

"We're not positive, but we think the drop in fuel drive offs in Townsville is due to the security increase,” Mr O'Hearn said.

Sgt Nigel Dalton said contract security guards could be an option for Mackay fuel retailers.

"The second easy solution is more signage around the pumps, and the actual pumps, saying you're on video camera if you leave without paying we'll be reporting this to the police,” he said.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said it was important for drivers to be aware of personal security at service stations.

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